The rise and fall of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes

Theranos went from one of the most lauded "unicorn" tech startups in Silicon Valley to a company crippled by scandal.

Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos' founder and CEO, dropped out of Stanford University to launch the company in 2003 as a cheaper, more efficient alternative to traditional medical tests. It promised patients the ability to test for conditions like cancer and diabetes with just a few drops of blood.

But questions swirled over its testing and technology, and on Wednesday the SEC charged Holmes and former president Ramesh Balwani, with "massive fraud" involving more than $700 million. In a settlement with the SEC, Holmes was forced out of her role at the company. The SEC said it would take its case against Balwani to federal court in San Francisco.

Here's a look back at Theranos' rise and fall.

2014

— September 29, 2014: Holmes is named one of the richest women in America by Forbes. The outlet reports she owns a 50% stake in the startup, which is valued at $9 billion.

— December 15, 2014: The New Yorker reports Theranos has raised more than $400 million and it counts Oracle's Larry Ellison among its investors.

2016

— January 27, 2016: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sends Theranos a letter saying it was not complying with federal blood-testing rules and that patients were in "immediate jeopardy." It gives the company 10 days to address the issues.

— July 7, 2016: Regulators ban Theranos from running a lab for two years and revoke its certification.

— October 5, 2016: Theranos closes clinical labs and wellness centers and lays off 340 employees. Holmes says the company will pivot and focus on making a small, automated testing machine.

— March 3, 2016: A federal agency releases a redacted 121-page report based on a previous inspection of the Theranos labs, citing serious issues with the company's equipment and quality control.

2018

— March 14, 2018: The SEC charges Holmes and Balwani with raising morethan $700 million from investors through an "elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company's technology, business, and financial performance."